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Elton John: The Captain & the Kid

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Interscope Records
Released: 2006
Time:
 46:02
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): Elton John, Matt Still
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.eltonjohn.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2012
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Postcards from Richard Nixon (E.John/B.Taupin) - 5:15
[2] Just Like Noah's Ark (E.John/B.Taupin) - 5:33
[3] Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way [NYC] (E.John/B.Taupin) - 4:38
[4] Tinderbox (E.John/B.Taupin) - 4:25
[5] And the House Fell Down (E.John/B.Taupin) - 4:48
[6] Blues Never Fade Away (E.John/B.Taupin) - 4:45
[7] The Bridge (E.John/B.Taupin) - 3:38
[8] I Must Have Lost It on the Wind (E.John/B.Taupin) - 3:53
[9] Old '67 (E.John/B.Taupin) - 4:01
[10] The Captain and the Kid (E.John/B.Taupin) - 5:03

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Elton John – Vocals, Piano, Producer

Davey Johnstone – Guitars, Banjo, Mandolin, Harmonica, Backing Vocals
Nigel Olsson – Drums, Backing Vocals
Guy Babylon – Keyboards, Arrangements
Bob Birch – Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
John Mahon – Percussion, Backing Vocals
Arthur – "Woof-Bells"

Matt Still - Audio Production, Engineer, Mixing, Producer, Background Vocals
Bob Ludwig - Mastering
John Antenucci - Management
Keith Bradley - Management
Adrian Collee - Studio Coordinator
David Costa - Art Direction, Design
Laura Croker - Assistant
Bob Halley - Director
Lucy Lawler - Administration
Merck Mercuriadis - Management
Danny Porter - Mixing Assistant
Frank Presland - Management
Thomas Rickert - Assistant Engineer
Kent Smith - Production Coordination
Chris Sobchack - Drum Technician
Andy Williams - Piano Tuner
Ryan McGinley - Cover Photo
David P. Bailey - Photography
Herb Ritts - Photography
Michael Ross - Photography
Barry Morgenstein - Photography
Terry O'Neill - Photography
Philip Ollerenshaw - Photography
Mark Weiss - Photography
Juergen Teller - Photography
Patrick Demarchelier - Photography
Bryan Forbes - Photography
Jill Furmanovsky - Photography
Peter Lindbergh - Photography
Emerson Loew - Photography
Greg Gorman - Photography

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Ever since 2001's Songs from the West Coast, Elton John and his longtime collaborator, Bernie Taupin, have been deliberately and unapologetically chasing their glory days of the early '70s, but nowhere have they been as candid in evoking those memories as they are on 2006's The Captain & the Kid, the explicitly stated sequel to 1975's masterpiece Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. That record was an autobiographical fantasia of John and Taupin's early years - the days when they were struggling to make their mark, right up till their glorious success - and the idea behind this album is to tell the story of those salad days, which not only isn't a bad idea at all - it's clever and well-suited for John, the most self-consciously unautobiographical of all major rock artists - but fits right into Elton's desire to make records like he used to; after all, if he's trying to sound like the way things used to be, he might as well sing about the way they used to be, too. And The Captain & the Kid is nothing if not a proudly nostalgic piece of work bearing no modern touches; even the synths that occasionally color this country-ish rock are old fashioned analog synths. It sounds like an dream project on paper, but like a lot of dream projects, The Captain & the Kid doesn't quite live up to its lofty ideals. Part of the problem is that John has patterned the music not after Captain Fantastic - which lived up to its glamorama title through intense flights of camp and glitz that helped give its narrative a theatrical flair, not to mention a hell of a lot of color - but after the stripped-down, country-tinged pop and rock of Tumbleweed Connection and Honky Chateau. That is the sound at the core of most of his best music of the early '70s, but it's not necessarily the best choice for this album, since it doesn't quite fit with the original Captain Fantastic or the gaudy story of their success; it's a tale that calls for bright neon colors, and everything about this album is muted and tasteful.

It might not quite seem like what a Fantastic sequel should be - in fact, it seems more like a sequel to its direct predecessor, 2004's Peachtree Road - but that's hardly a bad thing. Like that album and Songs from the West Coast before it, The Captain & the Kid is a sharp, professional piece of work by sharp professionals conscious of their past and no longer wishing to rest on their laurels, so they're consciously evoking their best work without quite recycling it. They might not hit their mark directly, but they get close enough - it may be a little self-conscious and the production is a shade too clean, but the performances are warm and intimate, so this music feels right even if it doesn't necessarily feel exactly like Elton's '70s heyday. And the more familiar this song cycle becomes, the easier it is to admire the craft behind it, particularly in individual moments like the slow build on "Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way (NYC)," or how "Tinderbox" hearkens back to "Somebody Saved My Life Tonight," or the lightness of "I Must Have Lost It on the Wind," or the lazy blues of "Old 67," or how "The Captain and the Kid" brings to mind not Tumbleweed Connection but Billy Joel's approximation of that album on Piano Man. So, no, The Captain & the Kid isn't quite the second coming of Captain Fantastic, but it's hardly a cash grab by an aging diva - in other words, it's no Basic Instinct 2. John's intentions are pure and even if he doesn't quite make an album as good as his '70s work, it does stand alongside that work nicely - it's clear that he and Taupin are really trying, and it's far better to have albums like this and Peachtree Road that fall short of the mark but nevertheless get close than to have an endless series of well-produced but empty records like The One and Made in England.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine - All Music Guide



More than 30 years after its release, Elton John really HAS become Captain Fantastic and Bernie Taupin is most definitely The Brown Dirt Cowboy and they have made a sequel to that landmark #1 album. The Captain & The Kid tells the tale of not only their lives, but also of the fantastic records of the '60's & '70's when music was the most important voice of our culture and the was its prime vehicle. With Elton's 60th birthday coming up, its only right to reflect on a life he has lived to the fullest yet continue to push the musical boundaries forward. Whatever you favorite Elton album may be, after listening to The Captain & The Kid, you will transported back to that place in time when music mattered most and also believe that it still does! Thirty- five years later Elton & Bernie are as passionate about the music as they have ever been and any proof you need is in these 10 tracks known as The Captain & The Kid.

Amazon.com



The degree to which you'll like The Captain & the Kid is going to depend on your personal history with Sir Elton John. If you're a resolute follower who was once reduced to a quivering mass of humility by "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" and then revived by the blast of pop liberation that was "Philadelphia Freedom" (a single that later appeared on the CD version of Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, the album to which this disc is a sequel) you'll have enough invested to appreciate the concept. If, on the other hand, you're a late arrival to the Rocket Man's repertoire, you'll have to adjust your expectations. Kid, unlike more recent efforts, isn't aiming itself at the lite-FM listening masses. What it's asking instead is that you return yourself to your 1970s-era childhood bedroom, flop on the bed, and lock the door, or at least fasten an elastic band around your MTV-addled attention span. This is total-immersion music, and it's got 30 years worth of stories to tell.

The Captain and the Kid are John and Bernie Taupin, his longtime songwriting partner. The music, a choir-enhanced swerve through genres including pop, rock, blues, folk, and country with signature piano riffs thrown in nearly everywhere, chronicles their splintery relationship. Innocence and hope ("Postcards from Richard Nixon") give way to success and joy ("Just Like Noah's Ark"), which eventually leads to discontent ("Tinderbox") and disaster ("And the House Fell Down"). A shot at redemption ("The Bridge") later finds the Captain; reflection ("Old 67") and a joyous reunion (the title track) follow.

Theirs is ultimately a simple story, but John and Taupin suffuse it with hypnotic sentimentality - along with the narrative, echoes of past hits wander into several classic-sounding tracks. "Tiny Dancer" darts through the cracked-voice beauty of "Blues Never Fade Away" and "The Bridge," for example, while "Wouldn't HaveYou Any Other Way (NYC)" works in hints at both "Candle in the Wind" and "Where to Now St. Peter." Other songs shake loose less likely influences ("I Must Have Lost it on the Wind" sounds like something off a vintage Linda Ronstadt album), but all are compellingly steeped in context; if you don't get the late-disc reference to fine silk suits and six-inch heels, you'll wish you did.

Tammy La Gorce - Amazon.com



The Captain & the Kid is the twenty-ninth studio album by British singer-songwriter Elton John, released in 2006. It is his second autobiographical album with lyricist Bernie Taupin, picking up where 1975's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy left off. The Captain & the Kid chronicles the events in their lives over those subsequent 30 years.

Interscope Records announced that there would be no physical single released from this album as the emphasis is on presenting the album as a body of work. However, a radio single would be released in "The Bridge". The album's booklet has photos of John and Taupin all throughout their career, and in the lyrics section, two songs are included, "Across the River Thames" and "12", which do not appear on the music album. "Across the River Thames" was available as a free download to anyone inserting the CD into their computer. This is the first album created by John and Taupin to have them both together on the cover. This was the last studio album to feature Guy Babylon on keyboards; he died in 2009 and was replaced by Kim Bullard. This was also Bob Birch's last appearance on any of John's solo studio albums before his own death in August 2012 (Birch last appeared on the Gnomeo and Juliet soundtrack).

The Captain & the Kid reached No. 6 in the UK, a considerable improvement over the performance of John's preceding Peachtree Road in 2004, which peaked at No. 21. It reached No. 18 in the US, before quickly falling off the charts. At concerts in early 2007, John made clear his dissatisfaction with Interscope's promotion for the album, having threatened to terminate his contract with the label.

Producer Matt Still noted during an interview that in "Just Like Noah's Ark", Elton's black and white spaniel dog Arthur "barked in the middle of [the recording], because John Mahon was playing a cowbell, and the cowbell freaked him out. So he ran over to John and started barking at him right in the middle of a take. It's funny, just randomly he happened to hit the beats and he barked in time. So I recorded it and we actually kept him in there."

The sampled "woof-bells" can be heard in place of the cowbell on the track.

Wikipedia.org



Der erste Eindruck nach dem Anhören von Elton Johns neuem Album The Captain and the Kid lässt sich wohl am Treffendsten mit einem seiner legendären Songtitel aus der Vergangenheit kommentieren: “The Bitch is back“!

Die Rückkehr zur alten Form, ist das Ziel fast aller in die Jahre gekommener Rock- und Poplegenden. Ein schwieriges Unterfangen, das wahrhaftig nicht oft gelingt. Wenn doch, dann sorgt es für umso größere Bewunderung. Schließlich macht das Sich-Aufrichten zu voller musikalischer Größe nochmals ihren Ruhm nachvollziehbar, sowie die Begeisterung, die bereits Generationen vorher auf Konzerte rennen und Plattenläden stürmen ließ! Ikonen wie David Bowie und die Rolling Stones haben uns diese Erfahrung beschert, -so wie jetzt Elton John! Die 10 Songs auf seiner neuen CD The Captain and the Kid knüpfen an ein Album an, das allgemeinhin als eines der besten seiner Karriere gilt; Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy aus dem Jahr 1975. In seinen Texten zeichnete es bereits damals ein ziemlich genaues Bild der künftigen Lebenswege des Texter-Musiker Duos Bernie Taupin -alias Brown Dirt Cowboy- und Elton John -alias Captain Fantastic: Ersterer auf seiner eigenen Ranch in Californien und Letzterer als jetsettender Musiker. Ähnlich der weiteren Folge einer Soap-Opera vermittelt das aktuelle Album The Captain and the Kid dem Zuhörer was seither geschah und schließt damit eine Lücke von 31 Jahren. Das gelingt mit einer Souveränität und Selbstverständlichkeit, die selbst 20 Jährigen die Illusion zu verleihen vermag, sie hätten bereits vor rund drei Jahrzehnten persönlich das Erscheinen einer neuen Elton John Platte herbeigesehnt. Neben der bewährten Mischung aus von Blues und Country angehauchten Rocksongs, darunter “Just Like Noah’s Ark“ und “I Must Have Lost it On the Wind, finden sich auch Songs jener Gattung, die Elton John geprägt hat, wie kaum jemand sonst, -die Ballade. Stücke wie “Tinderbox“ und “Wouldn’t Have You Any Other Way“ beweisen, dass es das Duo Bernie Taupin und Elton John noch immer mühelos mit ihren eigenen Meilensteinen wie “Someone Saved my Life Tonight“ aufnehmen kann.

Andreas Schultz - Amazon.de
 

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